this post was submitted on 14 Aug 2025
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Years ago there was this natural movement thing, right when I was doing my coaching studies, and I got into the whole rest squat movement. Before that I was doing all sorts of high intensity exercises and always had problems with my lower back (I do have a disorder in my spine that causes that), up to almost ending up in surgery with it.
When I started to relearn the rest squat it was miserable at first, even though it's the most basic position people exist in as kids. The burn in my shins was incredible. But I got to the 30 minutes pretty fast and after that it has never disappeared again. I am well over 40 now, fat and often spoonless, but I can just squat all the way down and get up like it's nothing. Even when I slack on my lifting. Even when I sometimes forget about it for months on end, it never goes away again.
My lower back rarely gives me grief these days and if it does, hanging out in the squat usually helps. I do a lot of on-the-go client work where there often isn't places to sit and I can just hang out in the squat instead.
5/5, would recommend to everyone who is able to do this.
I find when I try to squat I just can't get down all the way unless my legs are very wide apart. There's a lot of tension? Resistance? From the area around my ankle tendons.
Is that something goes away with practice? I know that tendons aren't supposed to be stretched, so I've been a little hesitant to try and stretch where I feel the resistance.
Part of it goes away, but a part is probably just the way your hip bones etc. are aligned. I used to teach people to squat and the alignments we all have are very individual. Some need a wider squat while others can get tucked in a very tight squat "naturally". Things like your femur lenght, back lenght etc. also impact this.
I would aim to find a squat width where you can go with relative ease. Over time it might change too, but it's a good strategy to start wider if that's what you need. Strech is fine, but discomfort and pain is not. The position will get easier over time and I'd also do some work on the shoulder girdle and general hip mobility as these impact the squat quite a bit.
I'll add a video link here for some of this mobility work that I've found useful in the past: Link, this is pretty advanced if new to rest squatting, but do the things on your own level, eventually your range of motion grows.
Thanks for the info!
Nps. Adding that ankle mobility and your posterior chain (all the way from the head to your toes) being tight might also make it harder.
A lot of people can make their squat narrower, but then their heels lift up. If this is you, you can use an elevation under the heels at first so you can relax in the squat even in a more narrow position. Then just lower it over time. The idea is to be able to chill in the rest squat.
It's also smart to focus on mobilizing your feet and ankles, someone in this thread recommended massaging the soles of your feet with a ball and it's very good advice. The impact that can have on the entire posterior chain can be huge.
That's exactly it, my ankles come up. I can do a yoga squat fairly well, but I wouldn't call it restful!
If you can get your hands on a foam roll and a ball, it might really help with the posterior chain and heel stuff too. If your hamstrings are very tight, this too can make your heels go up when you squat for example.
It can be many things, but all are helped by doing the rest squatting and some basic mobility work. You got this.
Thanks for all the info. Definitely gives me some things to explore. 🙌
Did you follow a training programfotr rest squats, or just try to do it for as long as you could each day? I'm interested in any resources on this you may have
I did a 30/30 squat challenge on Facebook back in the day. I no longer have FB, but am sure there are many of these available online elsewhere. I definitely wasn't able to do the whole 30 minutes every day, but it still made me a rest squatter.
It was pretty difficult at the start eventhough I was a martial arts and lifting person so I'd go gentle with these. Lots of these contain grifty elements as they are adjacent to those sorts of scenes so the best thing to do is listen to your body and not push too hard. You don't have to do paleo or fast to be able to sit in a squat. :D
I'd start with small timed squat sessions with mobility work and build from there. If anything starts to hurt, honor that.
You'll never lose the ability again or I at least haven't. I definitely only do these hip mobility things now at the beginning of my lifting sessions or when I feel achy/need a strech. It's great as a cooldown too or before cardio. Sometimes months pass when I do none and it no longer matters.